National All Girls Festival: 27-30 April
The National Girls Schools Festival, also known as the “ALL GIRLS” festival took place over the long weekend, from Thursday 27 to Sunday 30 April, at Eunice Girls’ School in Bloemfontein. Rustenburg was well represented in this year’s festival, the first since pre-covid, as seven teams travelled to Bloemfontein to compete among some of the best in the country.
Rustenburg entered seven teams: Cross Country (6 learners), Debating (3 learners), Hockey (15 learners), Master Chef (2 learners), Netball (10 learners), Squash (4 learners) and Tennis (4 learners). A member of staff accompanied each team. Ten staff members, including RGHS Principal, Mr Gates were part of the trip to Bloemfontein. The learners had an incredible time, taking away some great learnings from the competition. A full report will follow in next week’s bulletin.
| Mr. Gates (Principal) & Mrs. Lekgothoane (Director of Sport) | Azra Mahmood (Netball) & Jodie Blows (Hockey) – Captains |
Outdoor Hockey
After years of trying to put a derby day together, the first hockey derby day against Bloemhof was held on Friday 21 April. In order to get all the matches in on Friday, we decided to split the fixtures between the Bloemhof and Rustenburg Astros.
All of our teams were challenged and tested to their very limit, and we were on the receiving end of some resounding scorelines, but the lessons learnt will bode us well for the rest of the season.
The U19A team was very impressive, and walked away with a credible 2-2 draw, in a game that could have seen either team take all the spoils.
Results vs Bloemhof:.
| Date | Team | Opposition | Result | Scorers |
| 21 April 2023 | RGHS U14A | Bloemhof U14A | RGHS lost 0-5 | |
| 21 April 2023 | RGHS U14B | Bloemhof U14B | RGHS lost 1-2 | Reese Edwards |
| 21 April 2023 | RGHS U14C | Bloemhof U16E | RGHS lost 0-4 | |
| 21 April 2023 | RGHS U16A | Bloemhof U16A | RGHS lost 0-5 | |
| 21 April 2023 | RGHS U16B | Bloemhof U16B | RGHS lost 0-8 | |
| 21 April 2023 | RGHS U16C | Bloemhof U16C | RGHS lost 0-8 | |
| 21 April 2023 | RGHS U16D | Bloemhof U16D | RGHS lost 0-8 | |
| 21 April 2023 | RGHS U19A | Bloemhof U19A | RGHS drew 2-2 | Jodie Blows x 2 |
| 21 April 2023 | RGHS U19B | Bloemhof U19B | RGHS lost 1-2 | Tamsin de Villiers |
| 21 April 2023 | RGHS U19C | Bloemhof U19C | RGHS lost 0-4 |
Concussion Testing
A special thank you to Dr Leigh Gordon for taking time out of her day to give us a talk about the importance of concussions and being informed about concussions. A brief summary:
“Concussion is a brain injury which affects the way the brain works; it is not visible on any usual types of brain scans. The most important aspect of managing a concussion is recognising it. We need to do a full assessment to see whether the learner would require neck or vestibular (balance and eyes) rehabilitation, and then facilitate a graded return to learn where we gradually increase the workload of the brain. Once the learner can complete a full academic day without any symptoms, they may begin their graded return to sport. Sometimes brain function takes a few days to return to normal after symptoms settle (or learners claim that they have settled). To ensure that brain function has returned to normal, we can do a computerized neuro-cognitive test. The best way to know that it is back to normal is that each learner has a baseline, to which the post-injury test can be compared.” Please see the info sheet for further information.
Baseline Concussion Testing Information
If you would like to complete a baseline test, please click on the link below.
Baseline Concussion Testing Sign up
Swimming
Jenna Renecle (Grade 12) and Isabella Webber (Grade 10) participated in the SA Level 3 Regional Champs at UWC at the beginning of April. Swimmers came from Western Cape, Eastern Cape, Northern Cape and Namibia.
Isabella swam in the 15-year-old age group and made finals for the following races: 100m Butterfly, 200m Individual Medley, 50m Freestyle and the 50m Butterfly. She achieved the following medals: Gold 100m Butterfly, Silver 50m Butterfly and Bronze 200m Individual Medley.
Jenna swam in the 17 to 24-year-old age group and made finals for 200m Freestyle, 100m Freestyle, 50m Freestyle, 100m Backstroke, 50m Backstroke and the 50m Butterfly. She received a Silver medal for the 100m Backstroke and a Bronze for the 50m Backstroke.
Surfing and Lifesaving
Ellen Hodgkinson (Grade 10) competed for her club (Clifton) in both surf and Stillwater lifesaving at the Nationals held in Gqeberha from 30 March – 5 April 2023. She has now been selected to represent the Western Cape in Pretoria on 6 May for Stillwater Lifesaving. Ellen achieved 6 medals from the Nationals. one gold medal and 5 bronze.
Her results are below:
- Junior female double surf ski: 3rd place
- Junior female ski relay: 3rd place
- Stillwater competition in the pool:
- 4X50m medley relay: 1st place
- 4X25m manekin relay: 3rd place
- Junior girls line throw: 3rd place
- Senior girls line throw : 3rd place
Ellen also took part in the Precinct Freedom Day Surfski race on 27 April 2023. The Precinct Freedom Day paddle is a 27 km race/paddle from Oceana Power Boat Club around Robben Island and back. The event attracts all top paddlers from across the country to compete in one of the premier long-distance events on the surfski calendar.
There were storm conditions on the day with huge swells, driving rain and strong winds. The event was nearly cancelled due to safety concerns. The event finally went ahead after an hour delay to the start. Ellen finished 1st (U18 girls) and also placed 2nd overall women in the LSA category. Additionally, Ellen has been awarded Western Cape Provincial Sport Colors for Western Cape Lifesaving. We are truly proud of you Ellen.
